Leaving the furniture would certainly be our preferred option (and it is an option). It just depends on who rents it and whether they have their own stuff. If we can't find a renter, I'm certainly not going to leave the furniture to my landlord (however lovely he is). I'm covering all bases at the moment, as I don't want too much madness at the last minute.

I'm going to have a table in my office to sell some books. Knowing the Thai propensity for reading I don't know if I'll sell any, but it's worth a bash. Thought a bargain price of 30 baht each or 3 for 100 baht would work. I could punch some numbers into my calculator and then show it to them (Thai-style).

And if I still have books to get rid of before D Day, I'll borrow a megaphone from the faculty, turn the bass and volume up to max, and blast away at the students in the garden. That should draw a crowd...

How are you coping with the cooler weather, DM? Do tell us all on your interesting thread. x

Cooler weather, VS?
About 10 years ago, I had to go back to England for 3 months. My property in London was being underpinned (fortunately an insurance job) but I had no rent for that time. It was easier to go back, stay with family and then travel down to London and try and do a lot of the touching up work myself.
I arrived at the property mid February and it was freezing. And there was no electricity. Therefore no heating, no hot water, no light. I broke into my landlord's cupboard and found old, musty bed stuff and curled up on my old bed and shivered to death. No shower for 4 days and about the only thing that kept pneumonia away was working and getting warm that way. It was a sad, forlorn, horrible few days.
Until I mentioned it to a neighbour. They cooked me a hot meal, let me have a shower and investigated the lack of electricity. One of the fuses had blown and within a short while I had heating and hot water again.
Life wasn't so bad after that!!
I shan't forget that incident and I didn't cope well with the cold that time.
On other occasions I've been back roughly in winter time or start of spring, it hasn't been so bad. For the first few days, I don't feel so cold as my internal body temperature adjusts but then I'm freezing. Be careful of that. Best to go back in the summer and have a chance to get used to the change to cold weather, IMHO.

Best to go back in the summer and have a chance to get used to the change to cold weather, IMHO.

Good advice, though I think you've already thought of that as you're going in July, aren't you? I came back in early May, partly for that same reason, but even then the temperature (mid teens) was a bit of a shock to the system. Not for long, fortunately. It's getting a bit shocking again now at around 6-7 degrees, but at least I've had time to buy some jumpers, gloves, etc., and Mrs DM knitted me a scarf before I left! But there is something lovely about a cold, crisp and sunny winter's day in England.

Blimey Lomuamart! That sounds like a trip from hell. The houses we'll be staying in will have electricity, so I can put on the heating even if it's 24 degrees outside.

You're right DM. We've planned our return for July so that we don't get too much of a temperature shock. I'm hoping it won't be a problem. Most of our visits back have been in April - frost, sleet, and (if we were lucky) temperatures hitting double figures. Houses in the UK are designed to keep in the heat, and some sexy thermal underwear should keep me warm outside until I get acclimatised.

I'm certainly going to miss feeling comfortable wearing a T-shirt 24/7 and 365/year, but I'm looking forward to the changes of the seasons, and long summer evenings. To make this move a success I need to look at the positives rather than the negatives.

i have been back to Canada in the winter when the temp was rarely above freezing for the whole 3 weeks. But In Canada, it is bone dry in the winter and where I was there was almost no wind. So with good layering of clothing I was fine indoors and out. Canadian kids love the winter--skating, sledding, cross country and downhill skiing.
In the UK when it is cold it is also damp, that is what makes the difference. I have felt colder in London than ever in Ontario even though the temp was much higher.

Totally agree about how cold you can feel depending on the dampness and wind. I used to live in the East of England, and that biting North-Easterly wind would cut right through the layers of clothes.

We've just been sitting outside celebrating with champagne, as 20 years ago (on 24th November, 1997) we stepped off a plane and arrived in Thailand. We've been chatting about how we felt, and the extremely vague plans we had for the future. We didn't for one minute think that we would still be here 20 years later. Boy, how things have changed. We came over with travellers' cheques and were cashing them in at 85 baht for one UK pound. Got the timing right there...

One thing I'm really going to miss when I move back to the UK is the 'after dark' noises. The lake next to our house has been drained of water to remove the old fish, and then it'll be filled up again with a new batch. At the moment there's about 6 inches of water in it and the frogs are extremely happy. As I type I can hear an orchestra of frogs, with the cicadas and crickets playing the strings. A truly magical sound.

The night time sounds of Asia are something I really miss, too. I remember from my nights in Guangzhou in 1987, the night time calls of food vendors and the sounds of a night watchman, hitting the times in the early mornings in Bangkok's Asoke-Din Daeng Road in 1989. That's where the names of 1.00-5.00 A.M. come to Thai language i.e. tii nueng, tii soong, etc.

... the sounds of a night watchman, hitting the times in the early mornings in Bangkok's Asoke-Din Daeng Road in 1989. That's where the names of 1.00-5.00 A.M. come to Thai language i.e. tii nueng, tii soong, etc.

And the evening 'tum' hours being a deeper tone struck on a drum, so I was told.

One thing I'm really going to miss when I move back to the UK is the 'after dark' noises. The lake next to our house has been drained of water to remove the old fish, and then it'll be filled up again with a new batch. At the moment there's about 6 inches of water in it and the frogs are extremely happy. As I type I can hear an orchestra of frogs, with the cicadas and crickets playing the strings. A truly magical sound.

Yes, I remember the first time I heard a frog concerto on Koh Samui after a downpour, I thought it was a field full of buffalo!

Having said all that, the dawn chorus in England is very different, and to my ears more beautiful, than that in Thailand.

... the sounds of a night watchman, hitting the times in the early mornings in Bangkok's Asoke-Din Daeng Road in 1989. That's where the names of 1.00-5.00 A.M. come to Thai language i.e. tii nueng, tii soong, etc.

Thank you for that lovely piece of information, BG. I had no idea of the origins of that particular/peculiar part of the Thai language. The only time I've heard the night watchmen's dings and dongs was in Sakhon Nakhon. What a strange place that was...